I promised to show the battle plan.
2Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Did Yeshua give any instructions to His men that, as Commander in Chief, would please Him who had enlisted them? Oh, yes. In the prayer He gave them. Here are crystallized the essential pursuits for a man made in the image of God. That they are expressed in a triad is the Spirit's signature stamp.
Let me introduce triads.
Not a word escaped His lips but that it was laser focused on the only things that count in this life. There is no fluff; there is no flash; there is no spin. Nothing but truth. Hence, you'll notice some passages document the questions asked of Him that He doesn't seem to answer. Words are powerful, words are eternal. They shall not be wasted on frivolousness.
Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.
I became aware of triads through this passage:
1Thessalonians 1:2-4 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
Here, there are items mentioned that are separate, unique, definable things.
I noticed these three because it immediately echoed to me those three long time venerated qualities mentioned in 1Corinthians 13: faith, hope and love.
"How quaint!", I thought.
But I kept reading.
1Thessalonians 1:5-10 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
I was astonished to notice there were three things Paul mentions that others, in every place, made note about the believers in Thessalonica. They ...
For some reason, the two sets of triads made a connection in my mind and I saw this:
I was a little intrigued by this and wondered if it was a fluke. Either way, it provided a wonderful set of definitions for work, labor and love, not to mention faith, hope and love. Wow. What a treasure trove. Thank you, Lord.
Over time, I began to notice how frequently the Spirit uses this pattern to communicate truth. For example,
Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
Deuteronomy 10:8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day.
Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
1Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Timothy 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
2Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
... and on and on. I have at least a hundred different passages, I think, saved in a special file for further study.
And so, when Yeshua instructed His men how to pray, I wasn't too surprised to see the triads bundled up ...
=============================================
Matthew 6:9-13 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Amen.
=============================================
Three three's. That told me that this was highly significant, not to be taken lightly and that I had better pay attention to the details and obey.
The first three items are not requests. They are statements of purpose.
The second three items are requests and relate to physical and spiritual health.
The third three items are the justifications for expecting His presence and provision.
It becomes apparent that this is the equivalent of an army getting their orders of the day (OOD) from their CO for the purpose of clearing the decks of all that would entangle them in the affairs of this life (1st triad), calling for their meat and strength while ensuring the enemy cannot sap their strength by keeping forgiveness up front (2nd triad) and reminding themselves of the authority of the One they follow and rely upon for support as they praise Him and look forward to His assured victory (3rd triad).
Yeshua, after all, never diverted from the goal He has to give back to His Father the kingdom at the end of the age.
There are only three things I have to concern myself in this pilgrimage and thus are the fundamentals of pleasing the One who chose me:
That's it!! Live purposely such that His name is hallowed, seek His kingdom first and see to it that His will is done where you are (pursue righteousness).
He provides for THAT! He follows with extreme interest those who walk in His ways.
Do you know His name? You cannot hallow what you do not know.
Do you pursue employment in His kingdom? What language, what dress, what laws, what ways, what loves and hates? How about faithfulness in the little things?
Do you know His will? Do you do it? (Hint: commands, statutes and judgments)
This is all we have to be concerned about. These are the essential orders of the day. It cannot be reduced any further. Yeshua is complete in His understanding how men are and what will survive the judgment fires, laying out what constitutes usefulness to Him and where they can find Him if they want to walk with Him.
Please, hear Him. Pay attention to the details. You will fall in love with Him.
2Timothy 2:4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Did Yeshua give any instructions to His men that, as Commander in Chief, would please Him who had enlisted them? Oh, yes. In the prayer He gave them. Here are crystallized the essential pursuits for a man made in the image of God. That they are expressed in a triad is the Spirit's signature stamp.
Let me introduce triads.
Not a word escaped His lips but that it was laser focused on the only things that count in this life. There is no fluff; there is no flash; there is no spin. Nothing but truth. Hence, you'll notice some passages document the questions asked of Him that He doesn't seem to answer. Words are powerful, words are eternal. They shall not be wasted on frivolousness.
Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.
I became aware of triads through this passage:
1Thessalonians 1:2-4 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
Here, there are items mentioned that are separate, unique, definable things.
- work of faith
- labor of love
- patience of hope
I noticed these three because it immediately echoed to me those three long time venerated qualities mentioned in 1Corinthians 13: faith, hope and love.
"How quaint!", I thought.
But I kept reading.
1Thessalonians 1:5-10 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
I was astonished to notice there were three things Paul mentions that others, in every place, made note about the believers in Thessalonica. They ...
- turned to God from idols
- to serve the living and true God
- to wait for His Son from heaven
For some reason, the two sets of triads made a connection in my mind and I saw this:
- work of faith = turn to God from idols
- labor of love = serve the living and true God
- patience of hope = wait for His Son from heaven
I was a little intrigued by this and wondered if it was a fluke. Either way, it provided a wonderful set of definitions for work, labor and love, not to mention faith, hope and love. Wow. What a treasure trove. Thank you, Lord.
Over time, I began to notice how frequently the Spirit uses this pattern to communicate truth. For example,
Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
Deuteronomy 10:8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day.
Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
1Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Timothy 1:5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
2Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
... and on and on. I have at least a hundred different passages, I think, saved in a special file for further study.
And so, when Yeshua instructed His men how to pray, I wasn't too surprised to see the triads bundled up ...
=============================================
Matthew 6:9-13 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
- Hallowed be Your name.
- Your kingdom come.
- Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
- Give us this day our daily bread.
- And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
- And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
- For Yours is the kingdom
- and the power
- and the glory forever.
Amen.
=============================================
Three three's. That told me that this was highly significant, not to be taken lightly and that I had better pay attention to the details and obey.
The first three items are not requests. They are statements of purpose.
The second three items are requests and relate to physical and spiritual health.
The third three items are the justifications for expecting His presence and provision.
It becomes apparent that this is the equivalent of an army getting their orders of the day (OOD) from their CO for the purpose of clearing the decks of all that would entangle them in the affairs of this life (1st triad), calling for their meat and strength while ensuring the enemy cannot sap their strength by keeping forgiveness up front (2nd triad) and reminding themselves of the authority of the One they follow and rely upon for support as they praise Him and look forward to His assured victory (3rd triad).
Yeshua, after all, never diverted from the goal He has to give back to His Father the kingdom at the end of the age.
There are only three things I have to concern myself in this pilgrimage and thus are the fundamentals of pleasing the One who chose me:
- that His name be hallowed
- that His kingdom come
- that His will be done
That's it!! Live purposely such that His name is hallowed, seek His kingdom first and see to it that His will is done where you are (pursue righteousness).
He provides for THAT! He follows with extreme interest those who walk in His ways.
Do you know His name? You cannot hallow what you do not know.
Do you pursue employment in His kingdom? What language, what dress, what laws, what ways, what loves and hates? How about faithfulness in the little things?
Do you know His will? Do you do it? (Hint: commands, statutes and judgments)
This is all we have to be concerned about. These are the essential orders of the day. It cannot be reduced any further. Yeshua is complete in His understanding how men are and what will survive the judgment fires, laying out what constitutes usefulness to Him and where they can find Him if they want to walk with Him.
Please, hear Him. Pay attention to the details. You will fall in love with Him.